


A Family Discussion

by QueenOfTheMerryMen



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Bandit Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Robin Hood, F/M, Hood-Mills Family, Roland is Regina's Son, Universe Alterations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-18
Updated: 2018-09-18
Packaged: 2019-07-13 23:36:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16028354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenOfTheMerryMen/pseuds/QueenOfTheMerryMen
Summary: Late at night Outlaw Bandit has a discussion about the future of their family. Inspired by a manip by madnephelite.





	A Family Discussion

She was waiting up for him when he got home like always. The look on her face was one of displeasure like always. It was the same scene he’d returned to every night for the past fortnight but with one noticeable difference. Their son lay in her lap. 

Setting his bow down by the door, he joined her next to the window, running his fingers through Roland’s hair. “I thought he’d be in bed by now.” 

“He was,” she whispered, keeping her eyes their sleeping child. “I put him to sleep then an hour later he woke up… screaming. Nightmares.” 

“About what?” 

“What do you think, Robin?” Her voice came out sharper than intended. 

“Regina…” 

“You’re training,” she said. “With the bow, every night.” 

“I have to train,” he said. “In case you’ve forgotten, without that bow we would soon starve.” 

“And in case you’ve forgotten I’m just as capable with that bow as you ever were,” she reminded him. Shaking her head, she sighed. “This isn’t about our food supply Robin. You’re thinking about going back out there, thieving.” 

He ran his hand along his jaw but remained silent. Lying to his wife had always been impossible and it wasn’t as if she was wrong. He’d been planning and overseeing heists with his men for weeks but hadn’t gone out himself. He stayed behind because he was healing but his shoulder was getting better every day he could feel it. Once he recovered…

“You never had a problem with my thieving in the past.” 

“That was before our son saw you carried home with an arrow in your chest,” she hissed. The memory of it was still fresh in her mind. Laying her husband out on their wooden table, trying to muffle his cries of pain as Tuck pulled an arrow from his flesh, then turning her head and realizing her son had witnessed the whole thing. 

“Roland’s not the only one who nightmares you know,” she softly mumbled. 

“Hey…” He reached out to comfortingly stroke her cheek. “I know how frightening that was for you… but it was simply one close call.” 

“A call that could be repeated every time you venture out there,” she reminded him, her voice shaking. “It’s too dangerous. We have a son to consider.” 

“I consider him,” he insisted, faltering when he saw Roland shift in his sleep. In a lower voice he continued, “I consider him. Sherwood is as much Roland’s home as it is mine. If I can help transform it into a more just place for him I have an obligation to do so.” 

“And what about your obligation to us?” she asked, gesturing to Roland and herself. “Sherwood has a line of men willing to stand up for it in your absence, men you trust. Who do we have if you’re gone?” 

Robin rested his chin in his hand, letting out a deep breath. He felt his wife’s hand rest on his shoulder. 

“Robin… I know how much Sherwood means to you. Your dedication to your home is one of the reasons I fell in love with you,” whispered Regina. “But we have a family now. And I need to know that you will put us first, even if it means leaving certain things in the past.” 

Turning to look in his wife’s eyes he saw a flash of something he seldom saw there. Fear. 

He knew his injury had scared. A close call was what he’d said but the arrow had been poisoned. He was bedridden for weeks. Even through his feverish haze he recalled a moment where Tuck warned her that he might not make. It was only thanks to an old favor from a winged friend that he had. 

Righting the wrongs of Sherwood had been his biggest priority for so long. There was nothing more he wanted than to see his home returned to its former glory. But now, looking at his sleeping son in his wife’s arms, he knew there were other things that he wanted to see more. Roland’s first time shooting a bow, falling in love, maybe getting married himself. He realized the chance to see those things were worth more than a crusade he’d chosen as a young man. 

Softly sighing, he reached out to touch Roland’s curls once more. “Do you really think it’s time I hang up my hood?” 

Regina nodded. “Yes… I do.” 

“Then it’s done.”

 <http://nephelite.tumblr.com/post/91453751421>

 


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